Laying-out or embalming board



No. 622,322. Pate'nted Apr. 4, I899. H. C. BOETTIGER & 0. SCHLUETER.

LAYING-GUT 0B EMBALMING BOARD.

(Application filed July 19, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

No.'622,322. v Patented Apr. 4, I899. H. C. BOETTIGER &. 0. SCHLUETER.

LAYING-OUT OREMBALMING BOARD.

(Application filed July 19, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

f N-rinn STATES PATENT Grimes.

HERMAN C. BOETTIGER AND OSWALD SCHLUETER, OF WOODLAND, CALIFORNIA.

LAYING-OUT OR EMB ALMING BOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 622,322, dated. April 4, 189%). Application filed July 19,1898. Serial No. 6863362. (N model.)

2?) all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HERMAN C. BoE'rTI- GER and OSWALD SCHLUETER, citizens of the United States, residing at Woodland, in the county of Yolo and State of California, have invented a new and useful Laying-Out or Embalming Board, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to a laying-out and embalming board or table adapted for the use of undertakers, and having for its object to provide a device of this class wherein the body supported thereby may be maintained absolutely straight while disposed at an inclination in order to facilitate the flowing of blood to the lower extremities during the introduction of the embalrning fluid.

We are aware of embalming-boards capable of inclination or permanently disposed at an inclination, but wherein the construction is such as to cause the bending of the body at the center, and we are also aware of permanentlyinclined continuous boards; but

' the object of our invention is to provide a board of which the body-supporting member may be arranged at any desired adjustment, either horizontal or inclined at the desired angle, wherein the body is maintained in a straight position throughout to avoid inter.- ference with the circulation above indicated.

A further object of our invention is to provide a folding table having an adjustable member of a length sufficient to support a body throughout and also to provide in connection therewith an adjustable foot rest which may be arranged at any desired distance from the head-rest to suit the length of the body supported by the table and prevent the slipping or displacement thereof when the movable member is arranged at an inclination.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in'the following description,and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 isa perspective view of a laying-out and embalming board constructed in accordance with our invention, the same being shown in its operative position. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the board folded. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail vertical and horizontal sections, respectively, of the headrest. Fig. 6 is a detail View in perspective of the foot-rest.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The laying-out and embalrning board embodying our invention is preferably constructed as a table, of which the top consists of a frame or stationary member 1 and an adj 11stable member or center 2, said stationary memberor frame having supporting-legs 3, which are arranged in pairs at opposite ends of the board and are mounted. to fold inwardly or toward each other into rabbets or seats 4, formed in the under surfaces of the sides of said stationary member or frame to lie flush with the lower surface of said sides. The legs are connected in pairs by cross-bars at, and connecting the sides of the frame are cross-bars 5, upon which are hingedly mounted leg-braces 6 to engage said cross-bars of the legs and hold the latter in their normal or operative positions. Said braces are provided contiguous to their extremities with shoulders 7 for engagement with the crossbars, and the centers of the cross-bars are recessed, as shown at 8, to fit thebraces at intermediate points when the legs are in their folded positions.

The adjustable member or center of the table, which fits snugly in the open center of the stationary member or main frame, is pivotally mounted contiguous to one end by means of pins 9, which also form one member of cooperating means for securing the adj ustable foot-rest 10 in the desired position with relation to a head-rest 10, arranged at the upper or free end of said adjustable center. The foot-rest consists of a cross-bar provided with terminal arms 11, having longitudinal slots 12 and offset notches'13, and by engaging different notches with said fulcrum-pins of the adjustable center the footrest may be held in the desired position. When not in use, the foot-rest is adapted to occupy a position in the plane of the adjust able center of the board, said cross-bar of the foot-rest lying between the lower end of the board center and the adjacent end of the frame.

The board center is held at the desired angular adjustment with relation to the plane of the permanent member or frame 1 by means of swinging notched latches or supports 14, engaging studs 15 on the inner surfaces of the sides of the frame, said latches being pivotally mounted upon the sides of the board center and being adapted when the table is folded to occupy positions in the plane of said board center. \Vhen the board center is in a horizontal position in the plane of the frame, it is adapted to rest upon the abovedescribed cross-barsof the frame. Also in order to facilitate transportation of the table its top, inclusive of the stationary member or frame and the adjustable member or board center is hinged at its transverse center, said members being of sectional construction, with their abutting ends connected by coaxial hinges 16 and 17. Obviously these hinges are in an alined orcoaxial position only when the board center is in its depressed position in the plane of the stationary member or frame, and when so positioned the entire table-top may be folded downwardly to bring the under surfaces of its sections into contact, as indicated in Fig. 2. The centers or pins of the hinges 16 and 17 are arranged be low the planes of the lower surfaces of the frame and board center, whereby the contiguous extremities of said sections abut to bear the strain due to the weight of a superposed body and prevent the buckling or bending thereof, and also this construction and arrangement of hinges enables us to raise the sectional board center at one end and support it at the desired inclination by means of latches or supports at the opposite ends without employing means for holding the sections of the board center in alinement, although in practice we preferably employ a turn-button 18, pivotally mounted upon one of the board-center sections to swing under the other section when said sections are in alinement to prevent upward bending.

The construction of head-rest which we prefer to employ in connection with our embalming-table includes a shank 19, which is mounted for vertical adjustment in a suitable guide in the upper end of the board center and is provided with ratchet-teeth and aspring-actuated dog 20, mounted upon the board center for engagement with the ratchet-teeth, one end of said dog having a finger-rest 21, which is exposed at the end of the board center to enable the dog to be manually disengaged to allow the adjustment of the headrest.

From the above description it will be seen that the adjustable member or board center is adapted to occupy a position in the plane of the stationary member or frame, and when in such position the hinges between its sections are arranged coaxially with the hinges between the sections of the frame, that the legs are adapted to fold into rabbets or recessed in the under surface of the frame to lie in the plane of the latter, and that when the sections of the table-top are folded downwardly to occupy parallel planes their normal under surfaces may be arranged in contact in order to facilitate the transportation of the apparatus. Furthermore, it will be seen that the stationary member or open frame and the adjustable member or center are of sectional construction,each consisting of head and foot sections which are coextensive or are of equal areas, and that when the adjustable member or center is in its normal position in the plane of the stationary member or frame the pivots by which the head and foot sections of the adjustable member or center are connected are alined with the pivots, whereby the head and foot sections of the stationary member or frame are united, thus adapting the table to be folded to cause the head-sections of the stationary and adjustable members to lie in parallel planes with the foot-sections of said stationary and adjustable members with their extremities flush to facilitate transportation of the apparatus.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described our invention, what we claim is- 1. A laying-out or embalming table having a top comprising a stationary member, 0011- sisting of an open frame, and an adjustable member or center, coextensive with, and adapted to fit in, the open center of the stationary member, to occupy a position in a common plane therewith, and pivotally connected at one end to the stationary member, and means for raising one end of the adjustable member and securing it at the desired adjustment, to cause a uniform inclination of said adjustable member from one end to the other, each of said members comprising coextensive head and foot sections, connected by pivots which are in transverse alinement with those of the other member, when the members are arranged in a common plane, substantially as specified.

2. A laying-out or embalming table having a top, supporting-legs pivotally mounted upon the top to fold into the plane thereof, and means for securing said legs in their extended or operative positions, said table-top comprising a centrally open stationary member or frame and an adjustable member or center, approximating the stationary member or frame in length, arranged in the opening thereof to occupy a position in the plane of the same, and pivotally connected thereto at one end, said stationary and adj ustable members each being of sectional construction and having its sections connected at their abutting ends by coaxial hinges adapted to aline with those of the other member to fold downward and arrange the normal under surfaces of the top in contact, and means for securing the adjustable member or center at the desired angular adjustment with relation to the plane of the stationary member or frame, substantially as specified.

3. In a laying-out or embalming table, the combination with a stationary board member or frame, an adjustable board member or center pivotally mounted at one end Within the stationary board member or frame and carrying a head-rest at its free end, and means for securing the adjustable board member or center at the desired adjustment, of a foot=rest having a cross-bar and terminal side arms, said side arms being arranged at opposite sides of the adjustable board member or center, and having longitudinal slots and communicating offset notches, and pins carried by the adjustable board member or center for engagement by said notches to secure the foot-rest at the desired adjustment longitudinally of the table, substantially as specified.

4. Alaying-out or embalming board having a stationary board member or frame, an adjustable board member or center arranged within the stationary board member or frame, pivot-pins carried by the stationary board member and engaging the adjustable board member contiguous to one end, means for securing the adjustable board member at the desired inclination, a head-rest carried by the adjustable board member at its free end, andv HERMAN c. son'rrrona. OSWALD soHLUE'rER.

Witnesses:

CLARENCE W. BUSH, W. 'A. PORTER. 

